I found this cute article on Seeking Alpha: http://seekingalpha.com/article/2792435-will-audis-hybrid-q7-cause-teslas-model-x-backlog-to-evaporate
It's paywalled, but you can read it through the time-honored dodge of disabling Javascript.
In a nutshell: The Audi Q7 is a diesel PHEV that will cost $35K less than a Tesla Model X and provide over 800 miles of highway range.
quote: "With the Audi Q7 plug-in hybrid likely being 1/3rd cheaper than the Tesla, and having close to three times the range, you would have to be a very anal/pedantic extremist, religiously opposed to even the slightest few drops of liquid fuels, to go with the Tesla X over the Audi Q7."
Therefore, he suspects that many of the Model X pre-orders may end up getting cancelled in favor of an Audi. Needless to say, the author is shorting Tesla stock.
I think the easiest way to debunk his argument is to turn it on its head. He believes the Q7 PHEV will be around $75K "reasonably equipped", and you'll get 22 miles of electric-only range from it. Hmm... You know, I could get a Jeep Grand Cherokee 4WD with the diesel engine for about, let's say, $44K. That is a heck of a lot less than the $75K Audi Q7 hybrid! In fact, you might just "have to be a very anal/pedantic extremist" just to spend that much more money for a piddling 22 miles of electric driving range.
So... From where I sit, the people who are lined up to buy a Model X (all name-calling aside) are there because they want a BEV that works like a BEV and drives like a BEV. The Jeep provides none of that, and the Audi will provide only a wee little bit of that. It's not a direct competitor.
This is part of a bigger picture. Lots of companies now are touting PHEVs. Another site posted a list of 15 upcoming "electric cars" for 2015 -- and of the 15 listed, only 2 were actual electric-cars-as-such, meaning BEVs: the Tesla Model X and the Rimac hypercar. Many of these PHEVs are being touted as Tesla competitors, even though their power train is more akin to the Chevy Volt. Where's the logic? Where's the real competition going to come from?
It's paywalled, but you can read it through the time-honored dodge of disabling Javascript.
In a nutshell: The Audi Q7 is a diesel PHEV that will cost $35K less than a Tesla Model X and provide over 800 miles of highway range.
quote: "With the Audi Q7 plug-in hybrid likely being 1/3rd cheaper than the Tesla, and having close to three times the range, you would have to be a very anal/pedantic extremist, religiously opposed to even the slightest few drops of liquid fuels, to go with the Tesla X over the Audi Q7."
Therefore, he suspects that many of the Model X pre-orders may end up getting cancelled in favor of an Audi. Needless to say, the author is shorting Tesla stock.
I think the easiest way to debunk his argument is to turn it on its head. He believes the Q7 PHEV will be around $75K "reasonably equipped", and you'll get 22 miles of electric-only range from it. Hmm... You know, I could get a Jeep Grand Cherokee 4WD with the diesel engine for about, let's say, $44K. That is a heck of a lot less than the $75K Audi Q7 hybrid! In fact, you might just "have to be a very anal/pedantic extremist" just to spend that much more money for a piddling 22 miles of electric driving range.
So... From where I sit, the people who are lined up to buy a Model X (all name-calling aside) are there because they want a BEV that works like a BEV and drives like a BEV. The Jeep provides none of that, and the Audi will provide only a wee little bit of that. It's not a direct competitor.
This is part of a bigger picture. Lots of companies now are touting PHEVs. Another site posted a list of 15 upcoming "electric cars" for 2015 -- and of the 15 listed, only 2 were actual electric-cars-as-such, meaning BEVs: the Tesla Model X and the Rimac hypercar. Many of these PHEVs are being touted as Tesla competitors, even though their power train is more akin to the Chevy Volt. Where's the logic? Where's the real competition going to come from?
